Method of making buffers



May 16, 1950 .1. w. MARSH 7 METHOD MAKING BUFFERS Filed Sept. 11, 1946 INVENTO awn 2%]? Y r id ATTORN YS S Patented May 16, 1950 ES T l CE QRM NG. UEEEK John W. Marsh, Arlington, Va. egopl cati ufientembe .3.4.6, S ia o-;6 3

.iinal manuiacturing operation.

jlhe .ibufier illustrated 'in fig. ",1 comprises a hous n ill .W s p erably of holl w cy ndrical form andhas opposite end portions "Mia and lb of different diametenaandwseparated by a generally radial shoulder l l. The housing can be zmazdeifrom a length.of seamlessrtubinghby ordinary iswaei'es p ns A p un r also Alasdair-om.s m esstub surmou edthehous ne asliding fit and it incl s pp endpori ons 12o, J21: of .ldifferentdiameter sep aratedpy,a generally, adial shoulderilfl. The s a lendrort n la plunger is'longer than the small end portion Illa of the housing, and the large end portion i2?) is shorter than the large end portion lfib of the housing. Accordingly, when the plunger is inserted within the housing with its large and small diameter end portions within the corresponding end portions of the housing and the shoulders on the plunger and housing in contact, the small end portion I20. of the plunger projects outwardly beyond the end of portion liia of the housing, and the end of portion l2b of the plunger lies inward from the end of portion Nib of the housing.

In the completed bufler, the large end of the housing and the small end of the plunger are provided with closures, and resilient means within the plunger and housing act on the closures to hold the plunger and housing normally with their shoulders in contact and to resist movement of the plunger farther into the housing. In the buffer illustrated, the large end of the housing is closed by a base plate 14 and, in the manufacture of the housing, the small end of the plunger is inserted Within the large end of the housing (ores-r54) and ther unser. is, m v l st w sew h n th u n u zth sh ul e s f .th plun er an housing are'in contact. The plate l4 is the n applied to the large-endoi tlie,,housing,,and secured in place ,by welding indicated at l 5. The resilient means, .which rnay be ,a. coil or v .olute spring-or rubber springssep r tod byspa ers aretheninsorted. in he p neer ndhousinsthrou hith smallend ofthe oluneerto. bearaeein th i ne lace. orthe plate. hu e il ustratedith resi i mean take. th fo of. a. coil pr n 16. wh ch. has. al ieth, when uncompressed wh his lon er t n he ove all; I n thof th plu r-an hous when their s o ders ar n conta 15 A cord n ly. when .the sp meis inserted in th plunger and housing. until one end ,,engages the ,innerjace ,ofthe plate I4, the other endof the spring projects out of thesmall end cithe housmg.

-Aft r., .nse. :tionof Lille-spr ng .asdesc 'i d .liead: i' is. substantia nlars n'd m than thej housing andpreferably of dished f ormationgisto be securedtothesmall end of the plunger to ,confine' the spring under compression. Fo this. purpose, t ass m led pa s. ar ce "in a n apparatussuch as a press, which includes rel tively.m vablei ers and i9, it th .bas Mbear ns a ainst n of't em mb -Th head is then'inserted between" the other member and the end of the spring projecting out of the plunger. Pressure is next applied through the plate and head to compress the spring until the large end of the plunger seats against the inner face of the base, whereupon the head is welded to the small end of the plunger as indicated at 20, the compression on the spring being maintained through the welding operation. After the welds have set, the buffer is removed from the press and the expansion of the spring forces the plunger outwardly from the housing until the shoulders on the plunger and housing engage.

Since the uncompressed length of the spring is greater than the overall length of the plunger and housing when their shoulders are in contact, the spring is under compression at all times and tends to resist any movement of the plunger into the housing. The initial resistance of the buffer depends upon the lore-compression of the spring, that is, the extent to which the spring has been compressed to make its length equal to the overall length of the plunger and housing when their shoulders are in contact. The travel of the bufier is determined by the distance between the large end of the plunger and the inner face of the base, when the shoulders on the housing and plunger are in contact. Both the initial resistance and the travel of the bufier may be varied, as desired, within relatively wide limits.

I claim:

1. A method of making a buffer for railway rolling stock including a hollow housing and a hollow plunger each formed of a length of seamless tubing flaring between its ends to produce opposite end portions of different diameter separated by generally radial shoulders, the end portions of the plunger having an external diameter slightly less than the internal diameter of the corresponding portions of the housing and the small end portion of the plunger being longer and the large end portion of the plunger being shorter than the corresponding end portions of the housing, closures for the large end of the housing and the small end of the plunger and resilient means having a length, when uncompressed, which is longer than the overall length of the housing and plunger when they are distended with their respective shoulders in engagement, within the housing and plunger acting on the closures to resist movement of the plunger into the housing, which comprises placing the plunger within the housing with the large and small end portions of the plunger lying Within the corresponding end portions of the housing, then welding a base plate to the large end of the housing to close that end thereof, then inserting the resilient means through the small end of the plunger into the plunger and housing, then placing a head upon the projecting end of the resilient means, then applying pressure to the base plate and to the head to compress the resilient means until the large end of the plunger engages the base plate, and finally welding the head to the small end of the plunger while the large end of the plunger is maintained in engagement with the base plate.

2. A method of making a bufler for railway rolling stock including a hollow housing formed of a length of seamless tubing and having opposite end portions of different diameter separated by a generally radial shoulder, a hollow plunger formed of a length of seamless tubing and having end portions of different diameter, the end portions of the plunger having an external diameter slightly less than the internal diameter of the corresponding portions of the housing and the small end portion of the plunger being longer and the large end portion of the plunger being shorter than the corresponding end portions of the housing, closures for the large end of the housing and the small end of the plunger and resilient means having a length, when uncompressed, which is longer than the overall length of the housing and plunger when they are distended with their respective shoulders in engagement, within the housing and plunger acting on the closures to resist movement of the plunger into the housing, which comprises placing the plunger within the housing with the large and small end portions of the plunger lying within the corresponding end portions of the housing, then welding a closure member to the outer end of one of said housing and plunger to close that end of the same, inserting the resilient means within the plunger, then placing a second closure member against the outer end of the other of saidhousing and plunger, then applying pressure to both of said closure members to compress said resilient means until the large end of the plunger engages the closure for the outer end of the housing, and finally, while said pressure is maintained and the large end of the plunger is in engagement with the closure for the outer end of the housing, welding said second closure member to the outer end of said other of the housing and plunger to close the same.

JOHN W. MARSH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 392,133 Peck Oct. 30, 1888 1,438,177 Hatashita Dec. 12, 1922 1,665,762 Waream Apr. 10, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,043 Great Britain Jan. 13, 1912 198,823 Great Britain June 14, 1923 215,486 Great Britain May 15, 1924 396,902 Great Britain Aug. 17, 1933 385,481 Germany Dec. 5, 1923 385,482 Germany Dec. 10, 1923 443,592 Germany Apr. 29, 1927 

